American Literature美国文学概况.doc

This period is The Age of Faith
The early settlement
Early Settlement: 1607, Captain John Smith
The first permanent English settlement
1620, William Bradford, Mayflower, reached Plymouth, Massachusetts
The Puritan migration began.
▲Reasons: To reform the Church of England
To have an entirely new church
To escape religious persecution
To seek a new Garden of Eden
To build “City of God on earth”
▲The first settlers who became the founding fathers of the American nation were mostly Puritans. American Puritanism exerts great impact on American society until today.
Their Religious Doctrines: original sin, total depravity, predestination and limited atonement through a special infusion of grace from God.
Their attitudes toward entertainment: joy and laughter are symptoms of sin.
Their attitudes toward work: hard work.
They regarded themselves as chosen people of God.
Highly moral principles. Purify their religious practices and beliefs. Hard work, thrift, piety, sobriety, and simple tastes.
Legacy of puritanism
Prudence - clear thinking . not making emotional decisions. Biblical direction
The American Literature of the Colonial Period
(1607---1765)
Thrift . a penny saved is a penny earned. Ben Franklin's "waste not - want not"
Discipline - self-discipline . moderation
Hard work is rewarded . idle hands are the devil's workshop
★On American literature
Purpose: pragmatic & edify
Contents: practical matter-of-fact accounts of life in the new world; highly theoretical discussions of religious questions.
Form: diary, autobiography, sermon, letter, imitating English literary traditions
Style: no representative style, tight and logic structure, precise pact expression, avoidance of rhetorical decoration, adoption of homely imagery, simplicity of diction.
The basis of American literature. Widely used technique of symbolism. Influencing the style of literature: simple, fresh, and direct.
Literature and literature masters at this period